Press Releases
Global Merchants Move Against Gun Owners
September 15, 2022
Washington D.C.– On September 15,2022, Congressman Pete Sessions gave the following comment on Visa, Mastercard, and American Express' adoption of a new merchant category code (MCC) for gun and ammunition stores:
"Despite recent statements to the contrary, make no mistake that the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) new merchant category code for gun and ammunition stores is designed to provide the means by which all U.S. gun and ammunition purchases can be reported to law enforcement, which I believe clearly violates the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which provides that:
'The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable causes, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.'
I oppose the International Organization for Standardization's new merchant category for gun and ammunition stores, and as the highest-raking Texan on the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, I will be working here in Congress on behalf of my 17th Congressional District constituents to prevent this end-around our country's lawmaking process for such major questions as administratively enabling the reporting of legal purchases to law enforcement by using our payment systems."
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